Zane Anderson: The Academy Years
by Zachattack234
Summary: Set in the Star Trek Online series. Zane Anderson is a young cadet hoping to enter Starfleet with the dream of being a pilot like his late mom. But first he needs to get through the Academy and that means hard classes, new friends and experiences he never imagined. Based on my STO character, this is his backstory.


Zane Anderson The Academy Years

Chapter One Leaving for School

"Zane!" I heard a voice yelling my name. It was really loud, much louder than my alarm clock. I think I recognized it.

"Zane!" The voice yelled again. "I'm not calling you again! Time to get up!" I groaned into my pillow. Now I recognized it. The voice belonged to my dad and he was clearly trying to get me up early for the umpteenth time that summer.

I groaned into my pillow. "Just 5 more minutes Dad." I yelled back as loud as my morning voice would let me. The next thing I heard was a thumping noise that started out far away and consistently got closer and louder. It sounded like Dad had finally lost his patience and was personally coming up to my room to wake me up.

I pulled my blanket up to my shoulders and turned my back to the door preparing for the inevitable lecture from Dad.

"Come on Dad." I groaned again. "Just give me 5 or 10 minutes. Then I'll be up and I can help Grandpa with the chores."

"As much as I would appreciate that son, I'd rather make sure you get on your San Francisco shuttle on time. It's going to be here in half and hour."

My eyes shot open and I threw my blanket off my bed and sat straight up staring at my dad. He was already dressed for the day wearing an old pair of jeans, work boots and a short sleeve gray shirt. "You're kidding right? My notice said it wasn't going to be here until 9."

"That's right," he said glancing down at his left wrist. "And according to my watch as well as the rest of the clocks in the house, it's past 8:30."

"No Way!" I turned over to look at the alarm clock on my bedside table. The time was 8:36.

"You forgot to set your alarm didn't you?" Dad asked, his tone sounded tired, like this wasn't the first time this happened and he was tired of having this conversation.

"I must have." I answered jumping out of bed and rushing to my dresser for some fresh clothes. Normally I would have spent ten minutes telling dad that this wasn't a big deal, everyone forgets to set an alarm once in a while, blah, blah, blah. But this time I was REALLY embarrassed that I forgot to set the stupid alarm before going to bed and I was NOT going to miss my shuttle to San Francisco and Starfleet Academy.

"Are you at least all packed?"

I pulled off the undershirt I had worn to bed and replaced it with a fresh T-shirt.

"Yeah, my bag's over by my desk."

I changed out of my pajama bottoms and changed into a pair of jeans as Dad walked over to my desk. The duffle bag I parked before the going away party with my friends last night was hanging on the back of the chair. Dad unzipped the bag and looked inside. "Looks good." He said zipping the bag back up. "Good job son."

I finished lacing up my basketball sneakers and grabbed the black leather jacket Grandmom had given me for my 18th birthday off my bedpost. "You sound surprised." I said putting the jacket on.

Dad walked over to me and straightened my jacket. "Only a little. A father can't be surprised by his son every once in a while?"

"I guess." He clasped my shoulder. "Go downstairs and get some breakfast. You've got 20 minutes before the shuttle gets here. You also need to say good bye to your grandparents."

I grabbed the duffle bag and slung it over my shoulder. "Give me some credit Dad, I'll be out there with five minutes to spare." With that, I ran out of my bedroom and down the stairs for breakfast.

I could smell the bacon and eggs Grandmom was cooking before I reached the kitchen. I barely made it two steps into the kitchen before something very large and very gray had hit my waist at full speed. It had to be my dog "Bucky."

"Morning Bucky." I said, kneeling down and scratching his ears, giving him a chance to lick my face. Bucky was a Husky who was about 4 years old. He was birthday gift from my dad and grandparents when I turned 14. I was told I had to take care of him, but I didn't care, I always wanted a dog and I loved the big gray guy.

"He's been waiting for you." My grandmom said looking up from her work on the stove.

I stood up and moved over to see my grandmom and grab some breakfast. "Morning Grandmom." I said giving her a hug.

"Good morning Sweetie." She said putting down her spatula and hugging me back. "You must have slept well last night."

"What makes you say that?" I asked grabbing a plate and some silverware. Bucky was at my heels, very excited that I was grabbing something to eat.

"You didn't wake up until half an hour before your shuttle to Starfleet gets here. Must have been some party you had with your friends."

"Yeah it was." I said, it was true. My friends from high school really wanted to send me out with a bang before I left for Starfleet. We played basketball, swam in the local pool and even had a couple of real drinks (don't tell my Grandparents). I pretty much collapsed into bed when I made it home. "I just forgot to set the alarm before going to bed."

She sighed while I loaded my plate with eggs and bacon and fruit. "You can't do that while you're at Starfleet you know."

"I know," I said, sitting down at the table and feeding Bucky a piece of my bacon. "I don't do it all the time."

"I'm just saying that you shouldn't make a habit of it." She said placing a glass of orange juice in front of me. "You have enough bad habits already." She said indicating Bucky, who was happily and loudly, chomping down on another piece of bacon that I fed him.

"Come on Grandmom. I'm leaving soon and I won't be seeing him for a while, you know that." The second I said this, Bucky moved out from under the table and put his head on my knee. He was staring at me with those big blue eyes that made me fall in love with him when he was a puppy. "I know bud," I said, petting his head and giving him the last piece of bacon. "I'm gonna miss you too."

"He's not the only one who'll miss you." A gruff voice said entering the room. "I'm losing a perfectly good pair of hands here."

"Again, I'm sorry for following my dreams Grandpa." My grandfather wasn't happy that I was leaving the family farm for Starfleet academy. He always assumed that I wanted to stay here in Pennsylvania despite the fact that there was a huge galaxy out there and Starfleet always needed new officers and in my case Pilots.

"And I'm sorry I didn't lecture you more on the merits of being a lifelong farmer." He said loading a plate of food for his own breakfast. "When are you leaving?"

"About 10 minutes." I said, putting away my empty plate in the sink and pouring another glass of orange juice.

"Damn," he cursed. "Too late to get another chore out of you before you leave."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Glad to know I'll be missed Grandpa."

"Zane!" Dad was yelling for me again.

"Yeah Dad?"

"Shuttle's here."

I looked over to my grandparents, they were still sitting at the table. "Alright, I'll be outside in a minute." Grandmom had moved before I did and before I could react she was hugging me harder than she ever had before.

"Good luck sweetie." She sounded like she was trying to hold back tears. "You're going to do great and if something happens, you can always come home. We love you."

"I love you too Grandmom. I'll write when I can." I pulled out of her hug and shook my grandfather's hand. "I may be losing my best farm hands." He said. "But Starfleet is gaining two of the best hands they can get."

"Thanks Grandpa."

I felt something poking at my legs. I knelt down and hugged Bucky around his neck. "Bye Bucky, I'm gonna miss you buddy." He barked and began licking my face. "You be a good boy." He barked again. I stood up and left the kitchen for the front of the house.

I left through the front door and saw the shuttle from Starfleet about to touch down on the lawn about 300 feet away from the barn. Dad was standing at the bottom of the front steps.

I took a deep breath and walked down the steps to stand next to him. "Thanks for letting me do this Dad."

"You've more than earned the chance to do this kid." He said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. "Got a little going away present for you." He tossed something orange into my hands. My eyes widened.

"A new basketball." I felt myself smiling.

"Yep." He smiled back. "Your old one was starting to wear down so I figured I would get you a new one. I have something else for you too." He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small, red, semi-transparent computer chip.

"What's this?" I asked, taking the chip from him and turning it over in my fingers.

"Holodeck programs. There's about a dozen different basketball courts on there. I figured you would like to try different kinds of courts and continue developing your style. "

"Thanks Dad." I put the chip in my pocket. By now the shuttle had already reached the surface and the side doors had opened. I packed the ball away and turned back to my dad. "I guess I'm really doing this. Wish me luck?"

"Good luck Son. I'm very proud of you and I know that your mom would be proud of you too."

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Mom was the main reason I was joining Starfleet. I wanted to be the great pilot that she was. "Thanks Dad. That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome." He broke the hug and I began walking towards the shuttle. As I got closer, a sharply dressed man in a red Starfleet uniform stepped out to greet me. He pulled a Padd out of his pocket and checked what must have been a list of names.

"Zane Anderson?"

"Yes Sir."

He checked something off on the Padd. "Alright Cadet, Let's go. We're running a little behind. We need to be in San Francisco by 1300 hours. Take a seat in an empty spot and store your bag above you."

"Got it." I followed him into the shuttle. It was already about half full and the passengers were all human. I walked around the shuttle and found a seat next to a window. I stored my bag above me, sat down and buckled myself in. I heard the pilot's voice over the intercom.

"Cadets, make sure you are buckled in, your bags are properly stored and get ready for liftoff." I looked out the window as the shuttle was taking off. The farm house and barn kept getting further and further away and with it, my old life.

I yawned and leaned back in my seat. Maybe I could get some sleep before we landed in San Francisco that afternoon.


End file.
